Chapter 94: Secret Techniques

After great effort, they found a hidden place to store this batch of military supplies.

After finishing the aftermath, they set out again; this time, the journey encountered no obstacles, and they cleared all seven switchbacks.

They arrived at a village called Yuan Family Village and rested there for the night.

Since they now had shelter and no longer had to sleep in the wild, they didn’t need to keep watch.

Tomorrow morning, they would swap for another carriage in the village and travel much faster.

That night, Chu Danqing took the opportunity to open the treasure chest of the Seven Tigers of Hu Jian.

【You opened: Treasure Chest (Excellent Rank), obtained: Seven Treasures Tiger Bone Wine, Six-Flavor Bear Gallbladder Pills, Paradise Points ×2000】

【Seven Treasures Tiger Bone Wine】

【Type: Consumable】

【Rank: Excellent】

【Effect 1: Immediately restores 1 point of mana upon consumption】

【Effect 2: Accumulates 100 points of medicinal power in the body; after refining, increases progress of inheritance skills】

(Note: Those with too low a constitution will become intoxicated if consumed entirely at once) —

【Six-Flavor Bear Gallbladder Pills】

【Type: Consumable】

【Rank: Excellent】

【Effect 1: Restores 5% of life value within 10 minutes】

【Effect 2: Accumulates 100 points of medicinal power in the body; after refining, increases progress of inheritance skills】

Chu Danqing immediately understood these two consumables, like the Minor Return Pill, belonged to cultivation items.

Using them merely for recovery would be a gross waste.

“It seems this trial’s rewards lean heavily toward skills,” Chu Danqing muttered.

It perfectly suited their status as sprinters in the class.

This was their final chance to acquire a basic skill during the reserve phase.

They could also gain abundant skill and cultivation resources; Paradise had made it clear they must seize this opportunity.

Chu Danqing had no intention of using these cultivation resources immediately; he planned to save them for use in Paradise’s cultivation chamber.

An A-rank instructor could guide him on how to maximize absorption of this medicinal power.

Otherwise, he would inevitably waste some.

After all, the produced medicinal power wasn’t the Five Elements Qi — usable, but not professionally aligned.

Only with professional help could he make full use of it.

After putting the items away, Chu Danqing then learned the two secret techniques sent to him by Guo Ming.

These two secret techniques, as derivatives of the Five Elements Beast Spirit Scripture, had learning prerequisites.

Without the Five Elements Beast Spirit Scripture as an inheritance skill, learning would fail.

After learning them in order, a flood of knowledge surged into his mind instantly.

【Five Elements Cultivation Technique (Derivative) LV.1: Life value +1, Mana +1】

—

【Five Elements Spirit Seal (Derivative) LV.1: Permanently transform the five elemental orbs of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth into Five Elements Spirit Seals, gaining a range aura effect】

(Note: Effects of Five Elements Spirit Seals do not stack)

(Note: Maximum of one set of Five Elements Spirit Seals may be held)

Chu Danqing rubbed his head; the Five Elements Cultivation Technique was only Common Rank, its attribute bonuses negligible for now.

The true purpose of this technique was to reduce the difficulty of Foundation Establishment when fully leveled.

Its upgrade difficulty was low and could be trained alongside the Five Elements Beast Spirit Scripture.

The real challenge was the Excellent Rank derivative skill: Five Elements Spirit Seal.

It currently showed no effect because he had not yet refined the corresponding elemental orbs into Spirit Seals.

One complete set consisted of five seals; once refined, the orbs would lose their original shielding and damage effects and gain aura effects instead.

They could still be used to block attacks or strike enemies, but their strength was inferior to the orbs.

Chu Danqing currently had only two sets of elemental orbs operating autonomously — he would have to sacrifice one set for refinement.

The passive-effect elemental orbs, not the actively released ones, were the ones to be refined.

“Let’s start by refining the Metal Spirit Seal and see how it works,” Chu Danqing muttered.

He selected one Metal orb and began refining it according to the knowledge granted by the Five Elements Spirit Seal.

Refinement did not need to be completed in one go; it could be done in stages until the orb fully transformed into a Spirit Seal.

But there was a requirement: the orb being refined must not be damaged during the process.

If damaged before completion, he would have to start over.

Fortunately, once he fully refined all five Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth Spirit Seals, the skill would reach its maximum level.

As for the effects of the Five Elements Spirit Seals, they were tied to the elemental orb skill in the Five Elements Beast Spirit Scripture and did not require separate leveling.

Precisely because it depended on the Five Elements Beast Spirit Scripture, it was called a derivative skill.

“At this pace, I can refine the Metal Spirit Seal in about three hours.”

After roughly an hour, Chu Danqing stopped; his mana was depleted.

At this point, the Metal orb had become square and regular in shape.

“Tonight, I’ll finish it!” Chu Danqing checked the time and decided to press on.

He immediately activated the Five Elements Beast Spirit Scripture to restore mana, while also practicing the Five Elements Cultivation Technique.

It was no surprise that derivative skills were far easier to upgrade than the three mainstream skill types.

He needed to raise it to maximum level as soon as possible.

In a month, Guo Ming would send him more secret techniques; if he didn’t finish these two now, future backlog would be disastrous.

“Little Chu, someone’s on the roof. Run,” Da Bao, who had been keeping Chu Danqing company through the night, warned.

“Coming this way?” Chu Danqing’s expression tightened.

“No, to Zhao’s place,” Da Bao listened again and gave the direction.

“What’s going on? Let’s go check,” Chu Danqing understood — the intruder was targeting Zhao Mingqian.

Since they had paid, they had split up for lodging.

Chu Danqing and Da Bao shared one room; Xiong Zhigang and his old servant shared another; Zhao Mingqian was alone.

No one expected Zhao Mingqian would be targeted.

The two hurried to assist; outside, Chu Danqing saw a shadow crouched on Zhao Mingqian’s roof, peering into the room, its silhouette delicate under the moonlight.

“Female?” Chu Danqing asked uncertainly.

Da Bao nodded: “Smells sweet.”

“So do we still save him?” Chu Danqing felt unusually stuck for the first time.

Zhao Mingqian’s appearance was far more handsome than his own; even years of outdoor training had not dimmed his looks.

“I, don’t know,” Da Bao had no idea whether to save him; if Chu Danqing asked whether to kill, he’d immediately bare his claws and tear the shadow apart.

“They’ve released sleeping smoke. Da Bao, save him first,” Chu Danqing ordered immediately.

As soon as he spoke, Da Bao shot forward like an arrow.

He lunged straight into Zhao Mingqian’s room.

The sleeping Zhao Mingqian jolted awake and looked up to see Da Bao’s massive form reaching for him with a huge hand.

“Da Bao, you—” Zhao Mingqian’s tense body relaxed; before he could react, Da Bao seized him and hauled him out.

By the time he regained his wits, he was already outside the room.

(End of Chapter)